At Shrove Tuesday on a Shrove Tuesday

A late-night conference call saw the lioness chilling out on her own the next day. She decided to explore the old neighbourhood town of Toa Payoh with its bustling wet markets, provision shops and hardware stores all on foot. She took a turn past a primary school to the quieter part of Lorong 4 in the afternoon with its famous fish head curry store, Nepalese restaurant and an old school barber shop at the corner. She was somewhat stunned to be greeted by a traditional Nonya confectionery under a block of flats as the nondescript shop had escaped her notice on previous less leisurely visits.    

Almost extinct in neighbourhoods around the island:
A wide boulevard flanked by a long row of low-rise flats and
and a small hawker centre on the right.

Oh boy, it's not her wedding day but the lioness is excited by all the
pretty handmade nonya kuehs sitting in a row at this traditional confectionery.

At only 60 cents, this lempur udang (dried shrimp glutinous rice roll)
is a steal compared to the pricey ones at @#$% Solo! And it tastes so much
better (unapologetically spicy too!) with a gorgeous hint of blue on the rice.

Kueh Lapis Kukos dressed in traditional colours.
Devour it layer by layer, tearing each layer by your fingers.
This one's not too sickeningly sweet, just nice leh!

Cuchi's favourite childhood comfort food -
the honey comb-like Kueh Ambon.

There's a new cafe in the neighbourhood amongst the nostalgic old birds.
This is totally unplanned (we swear!); the lioness stepped into Shrove Tuesday
cafe on a Shrove Tuesday! She was only informed of it by the young and
charismatic owner during their conversation.

Shrove Tuesday is a day of indulgence before Lent which
is traditionally observed by Christians as a period of fasting
and penance before Easter. Nothing religious here at the cafe.
It's probably an excuse to eat all the waffles you want
as dairy food such as eggs, butter and milk are forbidden
during Lent. In the owner's own light-hearted words,
every day's a Shrove Tuesday for him.

Some of the furniture pieces were specially made by hand
by the owner himself. This cheerful tessellated table is
one of them.

Can you spot other handmade items?

Ok, the cutesy order number is a start.

The lioness got her favourite number - her birth month!
Hair stand can! Serendipity strongly at work here hmmm...
Coffee is brewed from award-winning organic Italian beans
and delivery was excellent. Robust and well-balanced was
the latte. Coffee brewed from organic beans usually costs
more due to the pristine conditions under which the beans are
grown and the careful handling and packing thereafter but the
owner has decided to keep to a competitive price structure here,
matching that of a usual cup at a cafe. 

Yup, the floor boards are made by the talented owner as well.

Count also this nest-like light feature in.

A cosy nook with a guitar. Chill with a bunch of  friends
over music.

The lioness did not really fancy the coconut ice-cream
though but that's a personal opinion. She found it erm too
saccharine sweet. Yah, dun lauff, we know that it's ice-cream.
Shrove Tuesday has a variety of homemade flavours to
rival neighbourhood darling, Creamier.  Speaking of which,
the lions spotted another new ice-cream cafe in the
neighbourhood recently but that's for another story.

Try other desserts on your visit here that includes
brownies, cakes and waffles. Their food menu's still limited
though.

Shrove Tuesday

Blk 94, Toa Payoh Lorong 4
#01-32
Singapore 310094